I recently just started feeding Pablo a raw food diet. I could tell he hated eating kibble and he loved wet canned food so I decided to get him on the raw food since it is much better. I been giving him raw chicken dinner which is mixed with veggies and supplements. The lady at the store sold me on it instead of MBO(Meat Bone Organ mix). I am going to go back and get some MBO food. They both come in ground frozen patties.

I am worried about salmonella contamination. Can I get salmonella from him if he licks me after he eats? What about his toys? Can they get contaminated with salmonella from playing with them shortly after he eats? Should I be washing the toys and stuff? I am quite worried. My wife is particularly worried because she has eczema and usually has broken skin on her hands.

Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause an intestinal illness in people and animals. There are over 2,000 known subtypes of the salmonella bacteria.

What are the symptoms?

Typical symptoms are diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, headache, loss of appetite, nausea and sometimes vomiting. Dehydration, especially in children and infants, may occur. Symptoms usually last 3-10 days. Some people and most animals may have no symptoms.

How soon do symptoms appear?

The incubation period can range from 6 to 72 hours, with an average 12 to 36 hours.

How do you get it?

Salmonella is transmitted by fecal-->oral spread. The bacteria is shed in the feces (stools) of people and animals infected with salmonella. You get salmonella by eating food or drinking beverages that have been contaminated with feces from infected people or animals. You can also get it if you contaminate your own hands cleaning up animal droppings or handling raw poultry and meat then eating with your hands or putting your hands in your mouth. The bacteria may be easily spread within the family unit and between small children. Once food has been contaminated, the bacteria can live on it and if the contaminated item is not refrigerated the bacteria will multiple increasing the risk of illness. Heat destroys the bacteria.

Salmonella is a very common bacteria. It is present on poultry, sometimes in beef and pork, and may be present in eggs and unpasteurized dairy products. The bacteria can be in a wide variety of animal droppings including mammals (dogs, cats, cows, sheep), reptiles (turtles, iguanas, snakes) and birds (chickens, turkeys and wild birds). Salmonella may be in untreated stream water.

Salmonella is NOT spread by coughing or sneezing.

How do you find out if you have it?

Your doctor can order a stool culture test in which the bacteria is grown from a sample of your feces. Because the bacteria may be excreted intermittently, especially if you are not having any symptoms, sometimes you may have to send in 2 or 3 stool samples. An infected person will shed the bacteria while they are ill and for several days to weeks after they recover and no longer have symptoms.

How is it treated?

No specific treatment is indicated except bedrest and fluid replacement, unless illness occurs in infants, the elderly or debilitated or if the illness is severe or prolonged. The use of antibiotics may actually lengthen the time that you shed the bacteria in your stool.

WASH YOUR HANDS--after going to the bathroom, before fixing food, before wiping children's faces. Ill persons should not prepare food if it can be avoided. Those who prepare food outside the home should not return to work until your doctor tells you it's okay.

Salmonella is shed in stool. Dogs walk around outside 'barefoot' and then come in your house. They lick their butts. It's everywhere in the environment. Just be clean. Wash your hands after preparing your dogs food. Just use common sense.

Thanks for the info's. Of course I use common sense and take all regular precautions as I would preparing chicken for myself like washing my hands and any utensils used on raw chicken before making contact with my digestive system.

However the questions I asked weren't really answered. Can his toys become contaminated from him playing with them after he eats? Should they be washed regularly?

And can it be spread to my wife through broken skin in her hands if touching the toys or if he licks her?

It is transmitted from the feces to the mouth. So don't lick the dogs toys. You don't get salmonella through broken skin on the hands. I wouldn't let the dog lick me on the mouth right after eating. But other than that, I wouldn't worry about it.

__________________"Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way.....
but you can never say again that you did not know." William Wilberforce 1759-1833